Dear MoveOn member,
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the
Republican Party.
Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and
that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with
writing a hit piece about it.^1
You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history.
The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar
campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing
the top election officials in battleground states with his own
loyalists.^2
You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a
previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in
most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election
results.^3
At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous
statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the
candidate.'"^4
Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple
battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen
election.^5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates
endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.^6
That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last
month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to
MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising
efforts so we can stop them."^7
That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today.
Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money
groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to
use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might
just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency monthly donation to MoveOn to
power and sustain their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of
state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the
GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$5 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$15 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$50 monthly
[ [link removed] ]Donate another amount monthly
[ [link removed] ]Or make a one time gift
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump
is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP
state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work
to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to
the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were
charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their
involvement in the insurrection.^8,9
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's
lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have,
the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."^10
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed
Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of
Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter
suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger
"compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted
coup.^11,12
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had
been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for
Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in
Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first
time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to
help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand
up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip monthly to help stop Trump's plot
to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$5 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$15 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$50 monthly
[ [link removed] ]Donate another amount monthly
[ [link removed] ]Or make a one time gift
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Trump helps thrust once-ignored secretary of state campaigns into big
donor spotlight," Fox News, January 10, 2022
[link removed]
2. "How Trump-backed secretary of state candidates would change elections
in the United States," The Washington Post, December 1, 2021
[link removed]
3. "After attacks on the 2020 election, secretary of state races take on
new urgency," NPR, November 4, 2021
[link removed]
4. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight
for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
[link removed]
5. "How Republicans became the party of Trump’s election lie after Jan.
6," The Washington Post, January 5, 2022
[link removed]
6. "Almost Everyone Trump Endorses Wins Their Primary … But Is He Padding
His Record?" FiveThirtyEight, August 26, 2020
[link removed]
7. "Trump helps thrust once-ignored secretary of state campaigns into big
donor spotlight," Fox News, January 10, 2022
[link removed]
8. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight
for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
[link removed]
9. Trump gives endorsement in Arizona secretary of state race," Associated
Press, September 13, 2021
[link removed]
10. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight
for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
[link removed]
11. "Jody Hice tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now he wants to be in
charge of Georgia’s elections." Vox, March 22, 2021
[link removed]
12. "After attacks on the 2020 election, secretary of state races take on
new urgency," NPR, November 4, 2021
[link removed]
Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump's preparations for being able
to steal the presidency in 2024 are well underway and include working to
replace top election officials in battleground states with his own
loyalists. Which is why MoveOn is doing something we've never done in our
23-year history: We're launching a powerful, multimillion-dollar effort to
defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state across the country and elect
individuals who will count every vote and ensure fair elections.
Will you chip in to power our campaign to defeat Trump and protect our
elections in 2022?
Because you've saved your payment information with MoveOn, your donation
will go straight through.
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$5 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$15 monthly
Express Donate: [ [link removed] ]$50 monthly
[ [link removed] ]Donate another amount monthly
[ [link removed] ]Or make a one time gift
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